Neutral Carpet Colors are considered safe to use.
It’s the reason most people are concerned about making their choice.
Will beige make the room look out of date? Is cream going to be too simple? Is all the world going to be taupe? Does grey give the room a chilly feel?
The bright side is you don’t need to settle for an uninspiring carpet flooring color when it’s neutral. In fact, some of the most sophisticated interiors feature neutral floors as their base. The secret lies in knowing how to select the proper undertone, texture, depth and shades for the room.
When it comes to furniture, a neutral is the best accessory color, ranging from warm beige and sand to taupe, stone, greige and earthier shades and can help add depth to a room, ease the look of a color scheme, and keep furniture timeless for years.
Ideal for the residential market for broadloom collections like Royal Touch, Serenity, Soft Touch or Santa Fe in particular for My Floor. The idea is not to make the carpet the loudest object in the room! It is to make it all around function better.
Why neutral flooring works so well.
Because of the size of the floors, the way they’re colored can make a significant difference to the look and feel of a room.
The bold carpet flooring can be the centerpiece. On the contrary, a neutral carpet will make the furniture, artwork, lighting and accessories stand out prominently.
This is especially true for Neutral Carpet Colors.
They can work with:
Light and dark furnishings
Wooden finishes
Metallic accents
Minimalist interiors
Contemporary homes
Classic interiors
Earthy coloured soft furnishings
Statement walls
The key is that you don’t want to select a neutral just because it appears good in a small swatch.
Carpet of a beige colour in a showroom will look completely different once installed in a room.
Start With the Undertone, Not the Colour Name
This is likely to be the most significant rule in picking a neutral carpet.
Apart from the actual color, two different carpets might be both beige and look so entirely different due to the color undertones.
A neutral can have:
Warm yellow undertones
Reds or pinks.
Cool blue undertones
Green undertones
Grey undertones
Knowing this difference is critical to avoiding the scenario that would result in you having a carpet that looks completely out of place after installation.
Warm Neutrals
Think:
Cream
Sand
Oatmeal
Warm beige
Caramel
Taupe
They make wonderful accents in wood, natural stone, brass, warm lighting or earthy furniture.
Cooler Neutrals
Think:
Soft grey
Greige
Stone
Ash
Cool beige
These are better suited to modern furniture, black elements, cool metals and neutral color schemes.
The Lighting Test: Does your Carpet Change During the Day?
Do not make a carpet selection based on artificial lights in the showroom.
Natural light has a dramatic effect on neutral colors.
The same warm beige color can look creamy in the morning light, but more rich in evening light.
A grey-beige will appear nearly grey when lit by cool white light but much warmer with warm LED lights.
When you are considering your flooring, take a look at the sample:
Morning → Afternoon → Evening
Test it with the lighting that is to be used in the room.
It is also particularly relevant for large carpet flooring rooms as a slight undertone will be more discernible when carpet covers the whole floor in such a large space.
Match Carpet with Furniture
Your carpet doesn’t necessarily have to be an exact match to your furniture.
In reality, it’s typically a wrong step.
Rather, focus on connection and not matching.
For example:
Beige SoFa + Warm Beige Carpet.
This will result in a soft, layered effect.
To give the room some variety, try adding contrast via:
Dark wood
Black accents
Green plants
Textured cushions
Artwork
Dark Furniture & Light Neutral Carpet
A light neutral will help to balance dark furniture and keep the room from being overpowering.
This combination is great in modern living rooms.
Wooden Furniture + Taupe Carpet
Taupe can be used to make connections between warm wood and cooler architectural finishes.
It’s sophisticated but not over-coordinated.
The secret to getting neutral carpet to stand out is texture.
Colour isn’t the only thing that creates visual interest.
Texture is as important.
One of the drawbacks to a totally flat neutral palette is that the room can look like a one-dimensional space. A textured carpet will produce subtle variations in light and shadow which will give the carpet a sense of depth while not having a strong pattern to it.
This is where construction of the carpet you are choosing becomes important.
A Cut Pile Carpet might be a great option for home settings where softness and comfort are key considerations. Pile cut makes for an upright, luxurious surface which feels good to walk on, and is ideal for bedrooms, living rooms and other cozy locations.
An intuitive neutral tone and a luxurious texture can create a luxurious room without the need for a strong hue.
Consider the Size of Your Room
Different sizes of space will define how a colour will respond.
Small Rooms
Lighter neutrals can help to open up spaces.
Think:
Cream
Soft beige
Light sand
Pale taupe
They will bounce back more light and help to make a small room look less congested.
Large Rooms
More liberty to try out new things.
Medium and darker neutrals can bring warmth and liven up a large room.
Think:
Mushroom
Taupe
Warm grey
Earthy beige
Stone
What matters is to think of the surface of the room as a whole and not as a separate surface.
Don’t forget the walls!
The easiest way to make any neutral carpet look dull is to use neutral on every other surface.
Beige carpet, beige walls, beige sofa and beige curtains can easily turn into one big beige bowl.
Instead, create layers.
For example:
Warm beige carpet, off white walls, walnut furniture and olive cushions.
or
I’d like to add some dark wood, rust accents, and taupe carpet, and creamy walls.
or
Light stone carpet + soft grey walls + black details + natural greenery
Instead of being the whole palette, the carpet is a part of the palette.
Royal Touch: Softness meets Practical Performance,
The carpet should be more than a colour you like when selecting residential broadloom.
For instance, the new line of Royal Touch is made from 100% Solution Dyed PP with a Cut Pile Heatset Frieze construction. It is woven polypropylene primary backed, 15 mm pile, and 2580 g/m² weight. The specifications also specify stain resistance, anti-slip, wear resistance, fade resistance, fire resistance, anti-static performance and suitability for floor heating.
It also claims a 10-year wear warranty and colour fastness data and describes a solution-dyed yarn system that it says helps to reduce the amount of water used and any effluent generated when the yarns are dyed.
The key for any homeowner is that the colour should be gorgeous, but the carpet should also fit into the daily routine!
Santa Fe: A palette that breathes personality into neutrals.
Neutral doesn’t equate to only beige and cream.
Earthy and deeper neutral colors can be used in a good palette and they will still be neutral but can add character and be easily styled.
For example, shades in the Santa Fe broadloom collection feature Nougat, Sand, Argan, Basalt, Granite and Ebony, while colours include Sienna, Caspian, Aquarius and Coral.
This is a key consideration when selecting neutral carpet:
Neutral is a design family, not one colour.Neutral is not a colour, it is a design family.
While both can be part of a sophisticated natural palette, a darker color, such as Basalt can offer a dramatic difference from a lighter one, such as Sand.
Think About the Mood You Want to Create
When looking for a carpet, you should ask yourself one question:
What is the desired mood of this room?
Calm and Soft
Choose:
Cream
Oatmeal
Pale beige
Soft taupe
Warm and Cosy
Choose:
Sand
Caramel
Warm taupe
Earthy beige
Sophisticated and Contemporary
Choose:
Greige
Stone
Mushroom
Medium grey-beige
Dramatic and Luxurious
Choose:
Charcoal
Basalt
Deep taupe
Ebony
This is a much more useful way of doing it compared to asking, “Which colour is trending?”
Don’t Ignore Maintenance
There’s still a beautiful carpet to survive the real life.
When you have children, pets, often visitors or a hectic household, it is important to consider a floor that is easy to clean.
This isn’t to say that lighter shades are forbidden of all.
Instead, consider:
Fibre type
Construction
Stain resistance
Expected foot traffic
Cleaning routine
Installation quality
A textured neutral can be more forgiving visually than a completely plain and even surface as the slight variation in tone can help to hide the typical marks found from everyday use.
Should You Select a Cut Pile Carpet for Your Home?
In most cases of residential use, Cut Pile Carpet provides an excellent solution as comfort is a significant factor in the overall experience. This type of carpet works exceptionally well in: Bedrooms Family Rooms Home Theaters Reading Areas Living Rooms Low to Moderate Foot Traffic Areas A softer surface provides a more relaxing atmosphere that homeowners typically desire. When selecting a carpet for commercial applications where there is a high degree of foot traffic, selection criteria should be focused on durability, density, construction and performance characteristics. The correct carpet selection is not solely determined by whether it has the softest hand or whether it looks the nicest. The correct carpet selection is determined by how the area being carpeted will be utilized.
The Biggest Mistake: Choosing a Neutral Because It Is “Safe”
The amusing point regarding neutral flooring is this.
The most safe colour isn’t always the best one.
A neutral ought to support your interior rather than vanish entirely.
What we want is for the space to seem balanced rather than empty.
Which is why undertone, texture, lighting, furniture, and the size of the room all make a difference.
A neutral colour carefully chosen can have the effect of being a subdued element which makes all the other things look more expensive.
The Bottom Line
When it comes to selecting neutral carpet colours, it’s not so much a matter of finding the “perfect beige” as it is understanding how colour behaves in your particular room.
Look at undertones.
Study the lighting.
Consider your furniture.
Think about texture.
Assign the building construction to the way the room will be used.
Most important of all, don’t mix up neutral with boring.
The right neutral carpet can appear to be warm, sophisticated, luxurious, modern, and extremely versatile, all without drawing attention to itself.
There are instances when the most well-designed floor is the one that causes all the other elements to appear better.
